Tongue cleaner



' M. ARTELLI TONGUE CLEANER Filed D90. 19, 1966 Nov. 11, 1969 United States Patent 3,477,435 TONGUE CLEANER Mario Artelli, Rapallo, Italy SS-Oceanic, 42 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10004) Filed Dec. 19, 1966, Ser. No. 602,955 1 Int. Cl. A6111 17/24; B26b 9/02 US. Cl. 128-304 i ABSTRACT on THE DISCLOSURE.

A tongue scraper formed of a metal blade like member having one end formed to fit between opposed ,wood parts all secured together to provide a handle witli'the blade like member extending forwardly of the handle which latter is shaped to be grasped in the hand of a user of the device. The blade like member pr jecting from the handle is arcuately shaped to form a flat arcuate top portion and a depending arcuate flange perpendicular thereto the lower edge of the flange forming a transverse tongue scraping blade. The forward terminal end or tip portion of the top portion is tapered and downwardly depressed at its center to provide a scraper for use at the base of the tongue. Adjacent to the forward portion of the handle the blade like member is provided with a tightly wound wire secured to the blade to provide a nonslipping surface that is engaged by the thumb of the hand. The blade member may be arcuately shaped such as to be usable in one form by a right hand person and in another form by a left hand person.

This invention relates generally to devices for maintaining oral hygiene. More specifically it relates to devices for cleaning the tongue.

It is generally well known to those skilled in the art, that the tongue, like the teeth in the mouth may become coated with a film having an objectionable odor, it being particularily noticeable upon arising from sleep in the morning. The tongue may have an unpleasant furry feeling, sometimes caused by saliva or mucus drying on the tongue by breathing through the mouth, and by various other reasons. This situation is of course very undesirable, and should properly be removed upon arising, just before brushing the teeth, and thus maintain a fully hygienic oral condition.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a tongue cleaner for the purpose of scraping the surface of the tongue to remove therefrom any secretions dried thereupon that produce a furry film or coating that may producea bad breath.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a tongue cleaner that is designed to scrape both the rearward as well as the forward portions of a tongue.

Yet another object is to provide a tongue cleaner that can be designed for being manipulated in either the left or right hand of a user thus being suitable for left handed persons as well as those who are right handed.

Yet another. object is to provide a tongue cleaner that does not wear out, and which accordingly may be used indefinitely.

Other objects are to provide a tongue cleaner that is simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture, rugged in construction, easy to use and efiicient in operation.

These and other objects will be readily evident upon a study of the following specification and the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the present invention showing a right hand model thereof,

FIGURE 2 is an edge view thereof,

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the invention showing a left hand model thereof,

2 Claims 3,477,435 Patented Nov. 11, 1969 FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the device scraping a rear portion of a tongue, and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the device scraping a forward portion of a tongue.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the reference numeral 10 represents a tongue cleaner according to the present invention wherein there is a working element 11 formed from sheet steel that is supported in a handle 12.

The working element 11 is of generally elongated configuration having a long flat handle portion 13 that is inserted between a pair of handle elements 14. The handle portion 13and the handle elements 14 are each provided with a pair of openings 15 therethrough for receiving rivets 16 to assemble the parts together. The opposite end of the working element is configure-ted to form a pair of scrapers 17 and 18. The portion 19 of the working element which extends outwardly of the handle elements continues in a flat plane 20 to the forward tip 21 thereof. The'plane 20 has arcuate longitudinal edges 22 and 23 which are generally of concentric nature. One of the edges 23 has a flange 24 integrally formed adjacent thereto by means of an arcuate bend, the flange eirtending in a downward perpendicular plane to the plane 20 of the element 11; the flange having a lower edge 25 that forms thescraper 17. The forward tip 21 is generally tapered and downwardly depressed at its center area to form depression 26; the tapered, depressed tip portion forming the scraper 18.

A wire 27 may be wrapped around the portion 19 between the handle 12 and the scraper 17, the wire forming a corrugated surface against which a thumb may bear when the device is held in the hand.

As shown in FIGURES l and 3 the device may be made in a right hand or left hand model R and L respectively for use by either right or left handed persons. It is to be noted that the device is grasped with the thumb 28 of the right hand 29 or the thumb 30' of the left hand 31 being placed on the wire 27 and on the side in which the flange 24 depends.

In operative use, the device 10 is used together with a sponge cloth (not shown).

The tongue is first pulled out of the mouth as far as possible without holding, by a sponge cloth in one hand thereof. The tongue cleaner 10 in the other hand is then placed with the scraper 18 on the rear of the tongue 32 and scraped on a forwardly direction the scrapings drawn forwardly. In doing so, the person is advised to not touch the visible corpuscles with the device. The device is then placed transversely to the longitudinal direction of the tongue and placed with scraper 17 on the tongue as far back as conveniently possible and then scraped forwardly to the tongue tip 33. Usually a single scraping is sufficient.

The novel features and the operation of this device will be apparent from the foregoing description. While the device has been shown and the structure described in detail, it is obvious that this is not to be considered limited to the exact form disclosed, and that changes may be made therein within the scope and the spirit of the invention.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a tongue cleaner, the combination of a sheet metal working element and a handle for holding one end portion of said working element, said handle consisting of a pair of handle elements between which said one end portion of said working element is inserted, said one end portion of the working element. and said handle elements having aligned openings therethrough for receiving rivets to secure the same together to form said handle, said working element constituting an elongated member having a fiat upper plane portion extending from the terminal end of said one end portion to a tip at the opposite end thereof, the portion of the flat upper plane portion extending forwardly of the handle having arcuate concentric longitudinal side edges, one of said arcuate edges having an integral perpendicular arcuate flange depending downwardly therefrom, said flange having a lower edge to form a scraper for the forward part of the tongue, and said tip being tapered and having a depressed central area to form a scraper for the base of the tongue. 2. The combination as set forth in claim 1, including corrugated means on the working element directly adjacent to the forward end of the handle providing a nonslipping area to be engaged by the thumb of the hand grasping said handle.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Kraeuter 30-169 Lewis 128-304 Chin 128-30'4 Gallanty 'et a1. 128-304 Runnels 15-236 XR Johnston 30-169 Fraser 131-246 Barkwill 128304 US. Cl. X.R. 

